


Long Walks and Leashes

by boatyard_of_fics



Category: The Creatures | Cow Chop RPF
Genre: Dogs, Fluff, M/M, Tumblr Prompt, and Cuteness, dog walker au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2019-02-10 13:13:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12912642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boatyard_of_fics/pseuds/boatyard_of_fics
Summary: James becomes a dog walker for a few weeks and meets an adorable man and his even more adorable dog.





	Long Walks and Leashes

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for the Prompt! I hope you enjoy it.  
> And double thanks to my short fic editor: Ice-like-dreams/Sweetdragonseeker (both on tumblr and A03/fanfic). I adore her to death.
> 
> You can find me at   
> talented-headache.tumblr.com

James needed to stop doing favors for his friends. It had been hard moving to L.A, and he had lost a lot during the move. He no longer had a lot of his friends or a lot of his common places to hang out at. His gym, his dog park, and the stores he had shopped at were all gone. Everything. Not that he had gone many places in the first place, but he still lost a lot. The move had been for the best, though.

It was supposed to be a brand new start in the new city, which was great, but nobody had told him there was a lonely feeling that went along with it. He was closer to his new job, L.A. allowed him to make more connections, and as a plus he was far away from his ex and those bad memories.

That’s where Brett came in. He was a friend and coworker who also happened to be a great networker and he just “wanted James to get out there more”. The problem was that Brett had a few very weird ideas on how to make that happen.

“I know the guy’s boss. There are only a few clients. All you have to do is walk them down to the park and let them play. After a couple of hours or so, take them back to their owners. No problem.” Brett explained as he continued to write down names and addresses on a piece of paper.

“Brett, I’m not touching dog shit. Besides, I’m busy.” James scowled at him.

“That’s what the baggies are for, dipshit. It pays well, get yourself a little spending money. It’s only two weeks and like three times a week at that. It’s literally nothing.” Brett rolled his eyes. “Look, most of the clients are friends of mine. So I’m helping out.”

“Brett.” James snapped.

“Besides, Ein could use the exercise and social time. Just like a certain someone I know.” Brett smirked, and it was that stupid fucking smirk. The one that made James so irritated he would do anything to prove the asshole wrong. It was the one that had pushed him over the edge to move in the first place.

Fuck.

“You calling my dog fat?” James asked, fake anger in his voice. Brett just continued to smirk, knowing he’d won. James would take the Job.

~

That’s how James ended up outside with Ein practically glued to his legs. While she was a happy and friendly dog, Ein wasn’t exactly sociable. One thing they had in common.

He was already irritated, and he started to glare at everyone who even looked at him as he walked down the street. The other three dogs he had for the day were all but dragging him towards the final house. He felt relief course through him as his phone told him he had arrived at the last client. It was a simple place, and James held tight to the leashes as he rang the button to the apartment.

“Hello?” The voice was male and deep. James heard a bark sound faintly over the com and the voice tried to hush it.

“Mr. Marchant? I’m the replacement walker, here to pick up Mishka.” James explained, careful to pronounce the name right, just as Brett had taught him.

“Oh, shit, dude. I totally forgot. Give me a second and I’ll be right down.” The voice replied, sounding somewhere between shocked and awkward laughter. There was a small beep to indicate he’d left, and James stepped back off the steps. He stepped on a leash and saw Ein cowering slightly behind his legs and the other three wandering the area with the short lead he had given them.

James bent down to scratch behind Ein’s ears. He wasn’t paying much attention to what was around him, so when a laugh came from in front of him, James nearly jumped out of his skin.

James snapped his head up to stare at the client as the other man leant against the doorframe. He had platinum dyed hair and one dark eyebrow raised up at him. He was also really pale for someone who lived in L.A. and most of him was covered by a blue striped sweatshirt and tan pants.

“-adorable.” Fuck, he was talking? James blinked and felt a blush rise on his cheeks.

“What?” he asked almost reluctantly. He probably shouldn’t have, because he’d rather look like an asshole than awkward with new people. That was what he got for being anti-social though.

“I said she’s adorable. Is she yours? Because she’s new to the pack.” Mr. Marchant repeated himself and his brown eyes squinted slightly as he chuckled.

“Yeah, yep. I thought I’d bring her along.” James stood straight and rubbed the back of his neck. He had the urge to avoid Mr. Marchant’s pretty eyes, so he did.

“Well, I’m Aleks. Thanks for doing this, man. I thought I was out a walker for the week.” Aleks said and turned to whistle behind him. James heard the clipping of nails against wood floors before a black and gray head popped out beside Aleks’ legs.

Aleks quickly grabbed a hold of the dog’s collar and attached the leash he pulled from his sweater pocket. “And this is Mishka.”

“She’s cute.” James offered and Aleks flashed him a quick smile.

James wasn’t prepared for when Aleks let Mishka go while he still had a grip on the end of her leash. Her excited face immediately darted for him. But instead of jumping on him like the other dogs had, she ran right for Ein.

Mishka all but head-butted the poor corgi and pushed her lightly to the ground. Ein went with the movement and fell onto her side. Mishka barked and jumped away, paws patting at the ground ready to rush again. James would be worried if it weren’t for the adorable dog grin on her face and Ein not returning a growl.

Ein slowly stood up then yipped, darted at Mishka, and pushed her back. They started to chase each other, but with both of them stuck on leashes they weren’t able to get very far. They just tangled themselves around James’ legs.

Aleks laughed, wrapping his arms around his stomach. His eyes were all but invisible with how hard he was squinting as he laughed and James had to stop himself from staring. The other three dogs watched the two, trying to stay out of the way and avoid the leashes.

“Ein.” James snapped at her and his blush deepened with his embarrassment.

“Oh, man. Have fun with that.” Aleks continued to laugh and handed over the leash. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Aleks shut the door with a final smile and a wave. James stumbled slightly as he finally untangled himself. He tried to figure out what to do with his suddenly fried brain.

He gently tugged on the leashes to let everyone know they were about to leave. He left the complex grumbling all the way down the walkway. He almost swore he felt eyes on his back the entire way.

~

James watched the dogs from his spot under some trees in the park. He scrolled lazily through his phone, watched the battery level go down as he tried to get through Twitter. He only looked up every few minutes to count the dogs before going back to it.

That’s what he did when his phone really did die. He saw the three stranger’s dogs, but not his own or Mishka. James yelled for them, and panic settled in his body as he scrambled off his seat. A small ‘yip’ came from behind the bench and he knelt on it to look behind.

He couldn’t resist the grin that slowly spread onto his face. The two dogs were curled up together with the nearly empty bowl of water, the one he had set out for all of them. Mishka’s head popped up like a gopher and her sloppy dog grin said it all as she trotted towards him. Ein slowly fell over again in Mishka’s rush, but still stuck close to the darker dog.

“We should head out soon.” James muttered and scratched their ears. He looked up and saw the other dogs had all started to lay down around the area. “Yeah, definitely.”

He whistled for them and he was honestly surprised when they all trotted back to him. It was a little sad he had to drop them off; they were good, friendly dogs, and Ein seemed to adore Mishka. He briefly wondered if Aleks would want to set up a play date with him. For the dogs. 

James shook that thought out of his head as quickly as it showed up.

Still James made what was probably a dumb decision to drop the dogs off backwards on the way back. That way Ein and Mishka could spend a little more time together, but it would also take fucking forever to get back to his car.

By the time he got back to Aleks’ house he was sweaty, thirsty, and ready for a nap. He walked up to the door and rang the bell. This time there was no waiting for Aleks to answer, just a small beep that let him know the blonde was on his way. James waited for him while Mishka and Ein settled down on the grass next to the walkway.

He didn’t wait long before Aleks opened the door with a bowl of water in one hand. He pulled a water bottle from the pocket of his hoodie and James raised an eyebrow at him. All he got was a sheepish grin in return.

“Looked like you needed it.” Aleks shrugged and handed over the bottle before he moved to put the bowl down with the dogs. It was just big enough that both their heads could get to it at the same time.

James thanked him and downed half the bottle in one go. The coolness felt great and when James finally brought himself to stop, he thought he caught Aleks staring at him. It was probably his imagination though, because Aleks looked back at the dogs. James decided that while Ein rested he could take a seat on the steps.

“So, you don’t look like someone who walks dogs?” Aleks piped up, and James glared at him. James knew he had a strong angry face; it went well with his loud voice, so it was a little bit of a surprise when he didn’t get a single reaction from the blonde outside a small, amused smile.

“I’m not. It’s a favor for a friend.” James said and grumbled as he sipped from the bottle.

“Let me guess; Brett?” Aleks asked and moved to sit next to him.

“How’d you fucking know?” James asked. He turned slightly so he could face Aleks.

“First of all, he’s the only one I told that the original dog walker couldn’t make it. Second, the dude tried the same fucking thing on me when I moved here. Except it was house sitting.” Aleks explained, counting his points with his fingers.

“That’s fucking dumb.” James laughed.

“That’s what I said, dawg.” Aleks said and chuckled along with him.

“What happened?” James asked.

“I brought Mishka along and she ate through their banisters.” Aleks replied, shrugging like it was nothing.

“Oh, shit.” James choked on the water. Aleks’s chuckle turned into a full blown laugh, his face contorting into that squinty-eyed look as he laughed at James.

“You said you moved here. Where are you from?” James tried to continue the conversation.

“East coast, then I lived in Colorado for a few years.” Aleks explained and pulled his own water bottle from his pocket. James hadn’t even realized there was more.

“What? No way?” James asked, shock and slight excitement leaking into his voice.

“Yes, way.” The blonde looked at him as though he was crazy.

“It’s just the same. I mean, PA, but still. I only moved here from Colorado a few weeks ago.” James explained.

“Wow, what a coincidence.” Aleks said, one eyebrow raised at him. Something in his gaze said he suspected something.

“Yeah, I guess.”

They fell silent not long after. James turned to look at the dogs. It was a comfortable silence that took over the whole front yard area. After a while, the dogs slowly started moving again, chasing each other around. James didn’t take long to finish the rest of the water and he started to relax. The nice quiet afternoon helped. Well, as quiet as Los Angeles could be.

“I should probably head out. Thanks for the water.” James muttered, even though he didn’t want to leave the comfort of Aleks’ front yard.

“Anytime; here, take my number. If you and Ein are ever in the neighborhood let me know.” Aleks pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over. It already had his number on it. James raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to tease the blonde, but Aleks blushed deeply. Then he turned and whistled at Mishka and took her leash from James. He hadn’t even realized the leash was still in his hand. No wonder the dogs hadn’t gone far. Their finger brushed just slightly and a small spark shot through James’s arm. Aleks jumped back.

“Um, yeah, I will definitely do that. I should be back on Wednesday. For another shift.” James explained. It was like his body and mind were trying to be awkward on purpose, because he had to will his dumb fucking blush away. Again.

“Cool, dawg. I’ll see you then.” Aleks tried to chuckle and he looked adorable with his equally red face. “I’ll actually have her ready.”

James watched as Aleks walked backwards into the house, almost as though he didn’t want to leave either. Ein tried to follow Mishka into the house, her fat little body struggling slightly to get up the steps in the heat.

“Ein.” James called her and Aleks bent down to pat her head. Mishka came up to her and pawed at the corgi’s head.

“Maybe you should go first.” Aleks suggested and smiled up at him. James nodded and bent to pat Ein on her side. He started to walk away slowly and waited for her to catch up to him.

James looked down at her as soon as they were far enough away that he didn’t want to turn around. She looked up at him with sad eyes.

“Don’t worry asshole. You’ll see her again.”  
~

That was how it went for the next two weeks. James would text Aleks before he left to get the dogs. After the second time he walked Mishka back last, it took way too fucking long to get back to his car and James decided to switch it up. Now he got Mishka first and got home faster.

After the walk back, he and Aleks would hang out when he dropped Mishka off. Aleks would already be at the door with a water bottle and a smile. There was one time when Aleks opened the door in a tank top and James thought he was going to have a heart attack from just the small glimpse of the tattoo peeking out of the v in his shirt and the full arms on display.

That was the day he decided to ask Aleks out for a date. Just set something simple up, like a walk to the park together with the dogs. He didn’t think Ein would forgive him if she didn’t see Mishka after this anyway. She almost drove him nuts over the weekend without her new best friend.

It was his last day as a dog walker for Brett, the original guy having called to let them know he was better. While it was sad he wouldn’t get to see most of the dogs again he was more worried about losing his chance with Aleks. That and he was fucking tired; who knew it would be so exhaustive to walk dogs for a few weeks?

James was nervous as he walked up the pathway; Ein trotted ahead with as much leeway as James would give her. Aleks was already at the door when he got there. Open and smiling, but his smile looked as if he was just as nervous as James felt. Mishka ran for them, and as they had learned she wouldn’t run off while Ein was there, Aleks let her go.

They started to roll around together as Aleks came to stand next to him.

“So I should expect you at two, right? I don’t have much going on today.” Aleks said and smiled at James. James blinked at him as his stupid heart skipped a beat.

“Yeah, yep. That’s the plan.” James returned the smile. They stood there for a minute as both dogs ran around their legs.

“Hey, Aleks?” James asked with a sudden rush of confidence. It was lost not even a second later when Aleks looked up at him with wide hopeful eyes.

“Yeah, man?”

“Nothing, actually. Sorry. I should probably head out. Don’t want to be off schedule, right?” James tried to laugh it off but on the inside he was hitting himself for losing that brief rush. He needed to get out of there so he could gain it back, maybe try again when he got back.

“Oh, yeah. I’ll see you when you get back?” It was almost a question. Like he knew he’d be seeing James again but something was missing. Aleks wrapped an arm around his stomach as his smiled wavered.

“Yep.” Short and simple. Now he needed to leave before his embarrassment killed him. He reached down to grab Mishka’s leash where it dragged on the ground. James started to walk away and regretted every step.

“Hey, James?” Aleks called out after them and James turned to look at him. It was almost a mock of what James had said a few moments ago.

“Fucking what?” James yelled back, knowing he wasn’t nearly as irritated as he sounded. Aleks took it in stride like he always did.

“Like I said, I’m not very busy. My meeting got cancelled today, so I’m free. Do you mind if I come along?” Aleks asked and James grinned at him. Happiness and relief filled him since he wasn’t the one to ask first. As much as he had wanted to, James knew his anxiety almost made him walk away forever.

“Better fucking hurry up then!”

Aleks ran to lock his door and grab a few things. He all but tripped in his hurry to get back to James. This time though when Aleks grabbed Mishka’s leash and their fingers brushed, neither jumped away.

**Author's Note:**

> You can leave a Kudos or a comment. Or don't I can't control you.  
> Next I'm finishing up my CCSS project then 2 more prompts. So busy, busy.  
> Thanks!


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